Poor performance of English clubs has caused decline in viewers

BT and Sky will go into battle this week over the value of Champions League football, as BT mounts its big push for next season, when it will have exclusive rights to Europe’s top club competition.

The telecoms giant is due to unveil Gary Lineker as the face of its coverage at an event on Tuesday, alongside a new set-top box that will enable viewers with the latest televisions to watch matches in ultra-high definition. BT has agreed to pay Uefa £897m over the next three seasons for the rights.

It is expected to try to lure Sky Sports subscribers into switching by offering access at a low price when bundled with superfast broadband, as part of its effort to encourage households to take multiple services. The charges will nevetheless represent a shift for BT, which currently provides BT Sport for free with standard broadband.

The launch will provoke a counter attack from Sky, though the dominant pay-TV operator is not expected to cut the price of Sky Sports to retain customers who may be tempted by their rival’s Champions League coverage.

It believes the competition is not a major draw compared with the Premier League, with viewing figures for European football showing a decline in recent years as English teams have struglled agains the best of German and Spain. Sky recently agreed to pay a record £4.2bn over three years to continue to dominate live coverage of domestic football until 2020.

Barney Francis, the head of Sky Sports, said: “Last season, we saw our lowest ever Champions League audiences and not a single European game appeared in our top 40 football matches. Overall, Champions League accounts for just 2.5pc of Sky Sports viewing, while the Premier League is seven times bigger."